AutoGTD

AutoGTD is a program that helps you implement the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology in Microsoft Outlook by giving you macros with hotkeys that you can use to quickly organize your email messages to folders under your Inbox. These macros are often activated by pressing a single character or combinations of Key Modifiers such as CTRL/ALT/Shift/Win and a key.

There are six main types of macros available in this script:

Categorizing Messages – quickly assign categories

Archiving Messages – quickly selecting groups of messages and moving them to various folders

Search and Move Messages – automatically perform a search and move all matches to a folder

Jumping to Folders – quickly moving to common folders without needing to use the mouse

Shortcuts to Common Tasks – other nice to have shortcuts

Set up reminders – quickly set reminders to pop up hours or days from now

It runs in the System Tray (near the time/date) as a little envelope icon with an orange arrow.
AutoGTD does not modify Outlook in any way, it simply activates when you’re using Outlook and supplies hotkeys that then trigger the built-in Outlook commands for you.

Features

Implement the GTD methodology right inside your Outlook. Flag emails as “to-do’s” or create new items in your inbox as a to-do item. Categorize them by Project name with a single keystroke. Easily move them to a Project’s folder. Determine the Next Action and set a reminder per email item. Review your flagged mail items weekly!

Ability to install or run as a portable app. This is helpful when your work won’t allow you to install anything on the computer. You can download it, unzip it, and run it from any folder.

All the hotkeys are customizable with an easy-to-use built-in interface. Just press CTRL+Shift+Space to open it.

Open source and available free! You can modify it and recompile it yourself.

Getting Started

Choose the installer or Portable version and download it.

Installer Edition

Just run the setup and it’ll install easily. Then Run it via the Start Menu called AutoGTD.

Portable Edition

Just create a directory somewhere such as your Documents folder called AutoGTD and unzip it to that folder. Then run the AutoGTD.exe file. This version is best for users who cannot install software due to company restrictions.

Source Code

If you want to modify or read through the code, you can download the Source version. If you also download AutoHotkey you can run it uncompiled.

This program is provided as Open Source under the General Public License (GPL) and is available for free. You may make and distribute copies, and modify it for your personal needs. But the GPL license must remain on derivative works. It can not be sold. The source code is available on SourceForge on the AutoGTD Project Page.

My Story

If you’re like me, you’ve studied Getting Things Done but struggle to effectively implement it in your life. Most of my tasks, or to-do’s come in through email and the majority of those are at work. Like many in the corporate world, I use Microsoft Outlook to manage my emails and tasks. The problem is, I often get 200 emails in a day, so implementing Inbox Zero can be a big challenge. Also categorizing and moving emails into Action, Archive, Read/Review, Waiting For, and Someday/Maybe folders can be tedious and is best done by using a mouse. I wanted keyboard macros that were simple. Finding only commercial GTD Outlook solutions, I decided to write it myself. I wrote AutoGTD using AutoHotKey‘s excellent scripting language to automate moving emails to folders with the press of a key. Interest from others started growing and I realized that this could be very useful if people could customize it themselves. Hopefully AutoGTD will help you to be more productive, and to get on top of your GTD efficiency.